marcus_a_j
Senior Member
Wow! Amazing how much has changed. When was that picture taken?
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CityPlace: St. Jamestown in waiting?
- Thread starter casaguy
- Start date
Vito81
New Member
Early 70's. Who remembers all of the spur lines coming up across front street east of spadina
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
Indeed. They ran across the land where the CBC headquarters now stands.
isittimetomoveyet
Active Member
Unreal. I remember seeing a black and white from the early 60's, it was even more unreal.
I love how there is sod between the railway tracks. They should still be doing that.
I love how there is sod between the railway tracks. They should still be doing that.
CanadianNational
Senior Member
That picture was how Toronto looked just a few years before I first came here.
My first visit was in 1977. My parents brought me and my sister to town to see 'The Ice Follies' at Maple Leaf Gardens. We stayed at The Downtown Holiday inn (nee The Colony Hotel), saw Space 1999 on something called Cable T.V., walked through Chinatown and ate at the old Lichee Gardens. I also saw the CN Tower - brand new! (was it even open yet?) glorious and futuristic as can be imagined.
Anyway, when people say that the recent wave of condo towers is blocking the city from the lake, I have to wonder just what alternate universe they are receiving their idyllic 'connected-to-the-lake-city' visions from. Although Cityplace isn't perfect, (especially how the area east of Spadina has been handled) visually it's a good, stompin', urban-size piece of placemaking. It seems to be getting better as it goes.
Here's some pics of the area beforehand, by way of contrast.
My first visit was in 1977. My parents brought me and my sister to town to see 'The Ice Follies' at Maple Leaf Gardens. We stayed at The Downtown Holiday inn (nee The Colony Hotel), saw Space 1999 on something called Cable T.V., walked through Chinatown and ate at the old Lichee Gardens. I also saw the CN Tower - brand new! (was it even open yet?) glorious and futuristic as can be imagined.
Anyway, when people say that the recent wave of condo towers is blocking the city from the lake, I have to wonder just what alternate universe they are receiving their idyllic 'connected-to-the-lake-city' visions from. Although Cityplace isn't perfect, (especially how the area east of Spadina has been handled) visually it's a good, stompin', urban-size piece of placemaking. It seems to be getting better as it goes.
Here's some pics of the area beforehand, by way of contrast.
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
In addition to the spur lines that were still there in the early '80s before the CBC headquarters was built, I remember tracks and low marshalling yard type buildings to the north - where Roy Thomson Hall was built - until at least the late '70s.
And there were plenty of big surface parking lots downtown, marking where buildings had been demolished. This was a mirror-image of what was happening elsewhere - speculative builders putting up highrise rental apartment buildings near farmland at the northern limits of the city, knowing that development sprawl would reach them eventually.
And there were plenty of big surface parking lots downtown, marking where buildings had been demolished. This was a mirror-image of what was happening elsewhere - speculative builders putting up highrise rental apartment buildings near farmland at the northern limits of the city, knowing that development sprawl would reach them eventually.
Vito81
New Member
Indeed
lxmoss
Active Member
Cityplace is very much the same as the high park neighbourhood of high rises in the way that the hong kong crowd hangs out with the hong kong crowd, the english white canadians hang out with the english white canadians. I, for one, hang out with the other homos in the building.
There are community events that take place on a daily and weekly basis. Movie nights, Yoga, swimming lessons, basketball games, volleyball games, ping pong games, trips to casino niagara, running groups, knitting lessons, scrapbook collecting etc.... There is a community base in these towers despite how the media makes it seem.
I believe the high turnover rate is mostly due to when a new tower becomes occupied many of the people moving in quickly decide that the building does not suit their taste for whatever reason and decide to sell. Much like any new condo tower. It has a settling period of a few years.
The fact of the matter is the older buildings (Matrix A) is having a lower turnover rate than two years ago over even one year ago.
For example right now there are only 2 units for sale in Matrix B and only 4 units for sale in Matrix A. Also, for the past several months no units have been for sale in Matrix A at all.
To put that in perspective the Soho met condominiums currently have 6 units for sale, Harbourview Estates building A has 4 units for sale, Harbourview Estates building B has 9 units for sale, and College Park Building A currently has 5 units for sale.
I think it is safe to say, on average, newer buildings have higher turnover rates due to investors, and people who bought off plans who didn't know what 516 sq.ft. actually looked like.
This area will mature and grow and will develop into a neighbourhood. Right now it is still a massive construction site. Give it a few years. There certainly is more life now than there was a year ago.
There are community events that take place on a daily and weekly basis. Movie nights, Yoga, swimming lessons, basketball games, volleyball games, ping pong games, trips to casino niagara, running groups, knitting lessons, scrapbook collecting etc.... There is a community base in these towers despite how the media makes it seem.
I believe the high turnover rate is mostly due to when a new tower becomes occupied many of the people moving in quickly decide that the building does not suit their taste for whatever reason and decide to sell. Much like any new condo tower. It has a settling period of a few years.
The fact of the matter is the older buildings (Matrix A) is having a lower turnover rate than two years ago over even one year ago.
For example right now there are only 2 units for sale in Matrix B and only 4 units for sale in Matrix A. Also, for the past several months no units have been for sale in Matrix A at all.
To put that in perspective the Soho met condominiums currently have 6 units for sale, Harbourview Estates building A has 4 units for sale, Harbourview Estates building B has 9 units for sale, and College Park Building A currently has 5 units for sale.
I think it is safe to say, on average, newer buildings have higher turnover rates due to investors, and people who bought off plans who didn't know what 516 sq.ft. actually looked like.
This area will mature and grow and will develop into a neighbourhood. Right now it is still a massive construction site. Give it a few years. There certainly is more life now than there was a year ago.
CanadianNational
Senior Member
Great pic, Vito.
Urban Shocker -
I believe in these two pics you can see the remains of the train sheds running along the north and south sides of Wellington to Simcoe. Lordy!
Urban Shocker -
I believe in these two pics you can see the remains of the train sheds running along the north and south sides of Wellington to Simcoe. Lordy!
CityPlaceN1
Senior Member
Wow this area has changed tremendously. Thanks for the pictures.
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
We don't have organised community movie nights, yoga, swimming lessons, basketball games, volleyball games, ping pong games, trips to Casino Niagara, running groups, knitting lessons or scrapbook collecting on my residential street in Riverdale, and we're a community too. The form of highrise living dictates the basis for a different interpretation of what constitutes the communality of community.
GrinTO
Active Member
Cityplace
I live in WestOne at cityplace and we don't have any of those activities. We do have a lot of problems though and a huge turnover rate.
I live in WestOne at cityplace and we don't have any of those activities. We do have a lot of problems though and a huge turnover rate.
taal
Senior Member
What problems?
I've never heard of all these community events in condos or even houses (low rise neighborhoods or suburban neighborhoods - not that I'm correlating the two) for that matter
Sounds like a fun place - who exactly sets up these events in cityplace?
marcus_a_j
Senior Member
My friend who lives there mentioned the recent flood in the lobby, plus the 45 minute wait on a saturday night to use the one working elevator (of four).
gei
Active Member
Isn't that building literally brand new... still under the interim occupancy period even? I'm sure they will sort those problems out within a few months. Elevator problems are very common in brand new buildings as it takes a while to get things calibrated properly.